CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE VAUDOIS

Their core work

CHUV is one of Switzerland's five university hospitals, based in Lausanne, serving as both a major clinical care provider and a biomedical research powerhouse. Their EU-funded work spans vaccine development (Ebola, HIV, TB, pertussis), neuroscience and brain simulation (as part of the Human Brain Project), cancer immunoprofiling, and clinical biomarker discovery. They bridge hospital-based patient cohorts with advanced computational and immunological research, making them a strong partner for translational medicine — turning lab findings into clinical practice. Their involvement in pharmacovigilance, sepsis biomarkers, and neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease reflects a hospital that actively drives research from bedside observations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2014–2018, CHUV's H2020 portfolio was dominated by large-scale neuroscience (Human Brain Project SGA1/SGA2, with keywords like brain simulation, neuroinformatics, neuromorphic computing) and infectious disease vaccine programs (Ebola, TB, HIV). From 2019 onward, the focus shifted markedly toward cancer immunoprofiling (IMMUcan, BIOMAP), clinical biomarker discovery, and applied deep learning for health data — reflecting a move from fundamental brain science toward precision medicine and immuno-oncology. The HPC involvement also evolved from pure neuroscience computing toward broader biomedical AI applications.

CHUV is pivoting from large-scale computational neuroscience toward precision immuno-oncology and AI-driven clinical diagnostics, making them an increasingly relevant partner for cancer and digital health consortia.

How they like to work

CHUV operates primarily as an active participant (34 of 43 projects) in large multinational consortia, typically contributing clinical cohorts, patient data, and hospital-based research infrastructure rather than leading the overall project. They coordinated 7 projects, all of which were smaller MSCA individual fellowships (EUR 175K–191K range), suggesting they use coordination roles to host visiting researchers rather than to lead major research actions. With 548 unique partners across 41 countries, they function as a highly connected hub — a hospital that many European consortia want on board for clinical validation and patient access.

CHUV has collaborated with 548 unique partners across 41 countries, placing them among the most broadly connected clinical institutions in H2020. As a Swiss university hospital, they bridge EU research networks despite Switzerland's associate status, with strong ties across Western Europe.

What sets them apart

CHUV combines the clinical infrastructure of a top-5 Swiss university hospital with deep computational expertise gained through the Human Brain Project — a rare combination of bedside patient access and advanced data science capability. Unlike pure research institutes, they can offer real clinical cohorts, biobanks, and patient follow-up data, which are critical for translational validation in any health-related EU project. Their Swiss location also provides access to a healthcare system known for quality and regulatory rigor, adding credibility to clinical findings.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HBP SGA1
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 3.25M) — CHUV was a core partner in the flagship Human Brain Project, contributing to brain reconstruction and neuroinformatics.
• IMMUcan
  EUR 2M for integrated immunoprofiling across five major cancer types using advanced single-cell analysis — represents CHUV's pivot toward precision oncology.
• gaitDCODE
  One of CHUV's coordinated projects, focused on real-time decoding of Parkinson's gait impairments from brain signals — a direct clinical neuroscience application.